Cleanup is underway in Philly after severe storms; tornados confirmed in Allentown and in N.J.
Thousands still remain without power, and damage from the storms impacted Amtrak and SEPTA.
Potent thunderstorms sped through the Philadelphia region Monday night, leaving down trees and power lines in its wake and knocking out power to more than 135,000 utility customers.
The storms spawned a series of tornado warnings from northern Delaware to the Lehigh Valley, including parts of northwestern Philadelphia, and two tornados were confirmed, one in the Midway Manor section of Allentown, and the other in Hunterdon County, N.J.
National Weather Service storm-survey teams determined that damages in Delaware County and New Castle County were the result of straight-line winds.
Determining whether damage is caused by winds that blow horizontally or in circles is of scientific import, said Dean Iovino, a lead meteorologist at the Mount Holly office. It’s a reality check for how radar has been working, and valuable for tracking ways in which tornado incidence may be changing.
Overall, in this event straight-line winds caused the bulk of the damage in Monday’s storm outbreak, said Sarah Johnson, the office’s warning coordination meteorologist.
A gust of 55 mph was measured at Philadelphia International Airport, and other reports of 50-plus mph gusts were common.
Johnson said the most significant damage came with a segment of the storm that bowed as it was moving into New Castle County in Delaware and headed up through Philadelphia into central New Jersey.
The storm damage also disrupted train service across the region. Amtrak experienced major delays between Philadelphia and Harrisburg on its Keystone Service line, according to a spokesperson.
SEPTA’s Paoli Thorndale line was temporarily suspended Tuesday morning, but resumed service with delays. Several other SEPTA lines experienced delays or operated with fewer cars due to downed trees and power issues stemming from the storm.
Despite the intensity of the storm, there weren’t reports of major flooding issues, likely due to how fast the storm moved through the area.
“Once it got to our area it kind of sped up,” Iovino said.
The storms forced postponement of the Phillies game against the Washington Nationals, which will be made up as part of doubleheader on Tuesday. The Philadelphia Union’s Leagues Cup game against the New York Red Bulls at Suburbu Park was also postponed, and will take place Tuesday at 8 p.m.
Musikfest in Bethlehem was also temporarily impacted by Monday night’s storms, but the annual event resumed around 8:40 p.m.
As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Peco reported that over 18,000 customers remained powerless, with more than 10,000 of those in Chester County.
Monday’s thunderstorms were the first in the last eight days. That was the longest streak without a thunderstorm in Philly since May, according to weather service records.
The region was drying out Tuesday, although winds were gusting to near 30 mph. Wednesday should be much calmer with lighter winds and temperatures in the 80s.
Thunderstorms, however, are due to return Thursday, and the government’s Weather Prediction Center has the region under a slight risk of heavy rains.